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The Smith Cloud: A case study of the dynamic disruption of a high-velocity gas cloud on approach to the Milky Way Galaxy
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2022-12-12
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Abstract
L* galaxies are on a trend of decreasing stellar and planetary formation. To continue
their current rates of star-formation, galaxies must find outside sources of gas and dust
to accrete onto their disks. However, the accretion of extragalactic gas is not straightforward.
This gas must surpass a Galactic halo of T ~ 106 K as well as the incident radiation
from the Galaxy itself. The effect of these processes on the survival of infalling gas clouds
is not well-understood. To illuminate our understanding of these processes, we study the
physical properties of the Smith Cloud, a high-velocity cloud (HVC) in the Milky Way
Galaxy’s halo using the Hubble Space Telescope and photoionization simulations. After
studying two quasar sightlines along an adjacent fragment of the Smith Cloud and three
quasar sightlines along the tail, we find that the metallicity seems to decrease the further
downstream a sightline is from the main body of the Smith Cloud and that the gas is at
least 46.5% ionized. These results can help improve our understanding on the origins of
the Smith Cloud and how it may be mixing with the Milky Way’s Galactic halo.
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Physics and Astronomy